


Sokka's Guide to Helping Zuko be a Fatherlord

by painted_lady12



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Badass Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gaang (Avatar), Gay Zuko (Avatar), I love that tag and will die for it, Light Angst, M/M, Non-Graphic Smut, Non-Graphic Violence, Parent Zuko (Avatar), Parenthood, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Slow Burn, Soft Zuko (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar)-centric, Unconventional Families, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, soft sokka, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:54:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26176051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/pseuds/painted_lady12
Summary: Zuko could ignore the growing something between them, at least for a while, until one afternoon Sokka said he had a surprise.So now Zuko was staring at what was laid out in front of him.It was a picnic.  A blue blanket laid out with two baskets, next to a small bathing pool.  It was far out in the woods, far enough that they ended up taking mounts to get to the destination.“Sokka, this looks like…”“Don’t think about it too much,” Sokka insisted with a raised voice, clearing his throat.  “I just wanted to do something special for you.”They'd left Izumi with Katara for the day, and Zuko couldn't help but blush.  It definitely felt like a date.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 76
Kudos: 390





	1. Tip Number One: Don't Be Stubborn! Accept Help, Idiot

**Author's Note:**

  * For [poetgirl323](https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetgirl323/gifts).



> Hello Zukka friends!
> 
> For someone who has a username based in the ATLA world, this is my first ATLA fic. Wild, right? I'm surprised it took me so long.
> 
> This fic is written in part for my lovely friend who sends me Zukka material all the time. She insisted that some day she'd get me to write for them. So, here you go babe. Enjoy<3
> 
> I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

**_**Sokka I**_ **

The South Pole was tranquil in the morning. Sokka ran his cadets in barren fields in the summertime, and he followed closely behind his recruits to make sure that none of them fell too far back.

One of the younger men had stumbled a bit, his hands slipping quickly into the powder, providing no support as he toppled. 

The water tribe’s General Commander of Training and Recruitment was about to rush to help them, but his second in command was ahead of him. They managed to start running towards the prize again without skipping a beat. 

At the end, the easternmost tower of the Southern Water Tribe territory, there would be a boat that would ferry them back to the main base of operations.

His men started to disperse within the town, saying hello to locals and spending money at merchants. The first time his second in command saw this practice, he was incredibly confused. However, Sokka asked him to observe for the day before making any judgments or assumptions.

When they got on the boat, however, his second, Tano, was still confused.

“Why would you let them break away from ranks? It seems irresponsible.”

“Ah, yes,” Sokka said sagely, trying not to puff up too much and appear too smug. “It would seem that way. However, what is the job of the Polar Patrol?”

“I still can’t believe they let you name it that,” came a voice from nearby. Sokka immediately spluttered and glared around, but no one gave up a name.

“The Polar Patrol,” Sokka had said with a huff, glancing around himself suspiciously, “Is supposed to create a sense of safety in the southern tribe. We’ve been living in fear of enemy invaders for generations. The southern water tribe finally has a fully manned army, thanks to recruits from the northern water tribe and refugees who have returned. Our job is to help people feel safe. If we seem like aloof melon heads, are they going to feel safe?”

His second frowned thoughtfully. “So it’s a public relations thing.”

“Yes, exactly!” Sokka pointed excitedly. “That’s what we’re going for! I call it Operation Outreach!”

Tano sighed, patting Sokka on the arm. “Yes, that sounds about right.”

Now, two years later, Tano was heading towards his favorite seal jerky vendor, chatting up with the couple that runs it. Their son limped out of their tent and jumped into Tano’s arms with a gleeful shout.

Sokka’s heart clutched in his chest.

Once his men had a few hours to disperse, they rallied onto the boat and traded stories and wares they’d collected. Sokka looked amongst the men, one of which tossed him fire flakes.

He blinked at them a few times. He almost forgot that the other nations were engaging in more international trade. His fingers fiddled with the packaging, and as soon as the cloth was peeled back he was transported.

It was like he was back on the streets of the fire nation, watching the performers. Or wandering Ember Island, hand in hand with Suki. Or, even more stark, lazing around the royal estate with Aang, Katara, Toph, and Zuko.

He pulled out the first crisp and bit into it, reminiscing about the long nights the five of them spent passing around snacks and planning the future of the whole world. At that time, they seemed invincible.

They all chatted as they made their way back to the main tribe, Sokka absently contributing but still lost in his thoughts.

Upon arriving at the docks, Sokka saw with shock that there was a sleek, angular black ship docked there as well. Confused, Sokka looked around and saw no sign of a fire nation group. They must have arrived hours ago.

Sokka couldn’t help his stomach from dropping out as he told his second to finish the morning’s exercises and duties until his return. Tano nodded and they all wished him luck as he ran towards the central building.

Once inside, he saw that Aang and Katara were chatting quietly with a few royal advisors. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” Sokka asked, coming towards them. The couple looked grim, and seemed relieved when they looked up and saw Sokka.

The three of them had long since grown into real adults. Aang and Sokka now stood at almost the same height, and Katara had lost her innocent doll face in favor of the sharp angles of a leader.

That’s when Sokka caught sight of the leader of the envoy, Mai.

She glanced over at Sokka, acknowledging him with a nod.

“Mai was just telling us that something has happened to Azula.”

Sokka glanced back and forth between them, trying to piece together the puzzle as best he could. “What, did she go all sparky sparky death bolt again?”

One of the advisors snorted, and Mai whacked them unceremoniously.

“We need you all to come support Zuko. He needs his friends right now.”

Sokka raised an eyebrow to his friend. “Any particular reason you aren’t there for him?”

“I’m supposed to be the ambassador in Ba Sing Se overseeing continuing reparation efforts. Zuko will not let me back out of it.”

Katara looked at Sokka with an expression that said that there was something else going on, something that hadn’t been mentioned yet.

“What, did Azula die or something?” Sokka tried to laugh, but Aang threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.

“She didn’t die,” Mai hissed, “She had a baby.”

  
  
  


**_**Zuko I**_ **

There was an infant in his arms.

It had pooped, and Zuko had no idea how to change a diaper.

Even the thought seemed wild to him. Zuko had to change an infant’s diaper.

“Uncle!” Zuko cried, internally panicking. The cloth and pins that had been left for him by servants were looking more and more alien by the second.

Iroh wandered in, yawning. “What is it, nephew?”

“I can’t figure this out!” he mumbled in frustration, the end of his words ticking up to an embarrassing octave. He knew that he looked a mess in his silk robe and hair sticking in all directions.

Iroh didn’t hesitate to take the infant, who was watching them both with careful fascination. With practiced hands, he laid her down on a blanket and started humming a peaceful song to her. 

He removed her robes and disposed of the old cloth into the laundry bag the servants had provided. Then he wiped her down and had her set back up in no time. She blinked up at them, watching them both with far too much wisdom for someone who was two weeks old.

“Zuko, you don’t need to do this alone. You can have the servants help…”

“No!” he reacted viscerally, feeling suddenly so very protective over his niece. “No, I don’t want her to be cared for by strangers. My mother did most of this herself, and so I’m going to do it myself.”

“Your mother can come help,” Iroh suggested, but Zuko swallowed nervously.

“She has her family. Coming to live here last time was too painful for her. I can’t ask that of her. She’s settled again.”

The two of them were both gazing down at the child’s face, who had just made a cooing noise and was reaching her hands out for Zuko.

Zuko’s heart melted, and he took her, cradling her head gently and placing a kiss to her brow. “I know I need help, Uncle. That’s why you’re here.”

General Iroh snorted, cracking his back. “I will never abandon you, nephew, but there is nothing wrong with asking for more help. I've already done my time as a father.”

Zuko looked down at Izumi, who started to suck her fist earnestly, as if discovering the limb for the first time.

A tear came to his eye. “I know, uncle. I’ll figure it out.”

  
  


***

  
  


During the next afternoon, Izumi was strapped to his front by a sling. They wandered around, Zuko showing her all of his favorite parts of the palace.

“This is the turtle duck pond. I spent a lot of time with grandma here. Also, your mom tricked me into falling into a fountain. Which, I guess, isn’t a good memory, but… anyway, I guess Mai and I got together because of those events, but we’re broken up now, so… uh…” 

Zuko looked at the baby hopelessly, who he saw was barely keeping her eyes open.

One of his attendants came over and reminded him about an important meeting. When Zuko started walking with the baby, the attendant coughed politely, gesturing at the child.

No one knew about the child outside his closest staff. Looking down at her with trepidation, he very cautiously handed her off to the attendant. 

“I should only be gone for a few hours. Please take her to my uncle and her nurse.”

The attendant nodded respectfully. “Of course, sir. Right away.”

  
  


***

  
  


He didn’t go back to his rooms after the meeting, not right away. Instead, he found himself going into the bowels of the prison, eventually coming to a stop outside of Azula’s cell.

She looked up at him dopily in her loose prison uniform. “I’ll get her, you know. You can’t keep her from me.”

Zuko couldn’t help himself from desperately wanting to free his little sister. To bring Izumi down here and let Azula hold her, feed her, treat her like a normal mother would.

Azula wasn’t a normal mother, though. 

The second she saw the baby she had started screaming. She attacked the staff, and put most of them in a burn unit. The only reason Izumi was safe was because Zuko had been holding her, and blocked the fire.

He’d barely left the infant’s side since.

“You tried to kill her,” Zuko accused, anger igniting in little sparks at his fingertips. 

Growling, Azula muttered, “She’s a monster, and I hate her.”

The killer glint in the princess’ eyes said everything. She was serious. Even if she pretended to care, or said she wanted to get to know the baby, Zuko couldn’t let it happen. Azula was a wild animal, and Izumi was nothing but prey.

“I need to know if anyone else is going to come after the baby, Azula. You were missing for months.”

Azula rolled her eyes, stretching out like a cat. Suddenly she had the look, again, like she was the one in control. 

How did she manage to do that, even in chains?

“No one else knows about the demon child.”

“Why do you keep calling it a demon child?” Zuko snapped, smoke emitting from his curled fists.

“I’ll come for her, Zuzu. Don’t you worry.”

Zuko growled protectively, and then swept from the room. 

  
  


***

  
  


When he walked into his suite in the palace, he heard voices coming from his internal sitting room. Zuko bristled immediately. No one was allowed back here except for his closest attendants and his uncle. 

Zuko felt the fear manifest into twin fire daggers between his fingers, a comforting warmth giving him the courage to open the door.

He immediately went into fighting stance, only to see that Katara was holding Izumi while Aang was making faces at her.

They all looked at him awkwardly, and Aang joked, “You caught us. We snuck into the palace.”

“What are you doing here?” Zuko asked, looking to his uncle on the couch for an explanation. However, Iroh shrugged as if this was a surprise to him, too.

Katara and Aang were both flushed with excitement, looking like they’d stumbled upon a jackpot. In fact, Aang had a sparkle in his eyes as he watched Katara cuddle the baby.

Zuko’s hackles raised, but he knew it was illogical. These were some of his closest friends. They would never do anything to hurt him, and they would never harm a baby.

“Hey guys, I got the attendant to make the bottle… oh, hey, Zuko!”

Zuko couldn’t help the jolt of shock as he turned to see Sokka standing behind him in the doorway. Somehow, standing with Sokka at just above his eye level, he felt incredibly small. 

It was strangely comforting.

Before Zuko had a second to analyze those feelings further, Sokka enveloped him in a hug. Zuko struggled to respond, patting Sokka on the shoulders. 

Then he felt something wet drip between his shoulders.

“Uh, Sokka?”

“What?” the other man said, looking a little lost before he realized he had spilled a little bit of the bottle onto the back of Zuko’s robes.

“Sorry, I’m sorry! Katara, why do you let me do this stuff? I’m not as good with babies.”

“You weren’t anywhere near the baby. You were just distracted,” Aang teased, using his airbending to float the bottle towards them.

Still standing close, Zuko felt his face start to heat up. Was Aang implying something?

What was happening with his heart? It was absolutely racing.

Confusion and mild terror made him step away, and for a split second he thought he could see hurt in the water tribe leader. It swept away so quickly that he wasn’t sure it was really there at all.

Pushing the thought away, he quickly swept over to where Katara was, trying to get Izumi to latch to the bottle. Katara also stuck out her tongue at her brother. “You’re excellent with babies, Sokka. You helped raise almost every baby in the water tribe while the men were fighting.”

“She can be temperamental with that…” Zuko insisted as Katara struggled to feed the infant. He tried his best to restrain himself from reaching out to do it himself. 

“You’re right, Katara,” Sokka swaggered over, his stupid cocky grin on his face. For years that grin infuriated him, and it still did, but there was something about the way his confidence overflowed right now that made him track the other man’s movements closely. “I’m sure I can handle this.”

Katara snorted, handing the bottle and baby to Sokka. Zuko made a strangled sound at the transfer, completely terrified that they’d drop her.

“Have more faith, my fire friend,” Sokka said haughtily, but when he looked down at Izumi his whole demeanor changed.

It was like he melted, his posturing dissolving as they made eye contact. A small, secret smile stole over his face, and everyone else in the room stopped laughing and watched with silent awe as Sokka managed to whisper a few words and held the bottle to her lips.

He made some odd motion and Izumi was immediately suckling on it, eyes lit up in interest at the man above him.

No one said anything for a minute, until Iroh finally spoke up. “You’re a natural, General Sokka. Your sister was right.”

Blushing, Sokka nodded without breaking eye contact with the baby. Zuko wanted to reach out and touch his arm, or do something to share in the moment that Sokka was having with his niece.

As quickly as it happened, though, everyone seemed to snap out of it.

“Mai sent us,” Katara finally said, Aang close at her back. The newlywed couple were watching him carefully. “She told us what happened with Azula. I was talking to Iroh about checking on those who were in the birthing room. I might be able to curtail some of the damage.”

“That would be great, thanks,” Zuko said, his throat closing up a bit. “I don’t know why Mai would send you, though. I’ve got this handled.”

Iroh put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder, both a comfort and a betrayal. “You need help, nephew. Let your friends be here for you.”

Zuko shrugged the hand off, crossing his arms. “It’s just a baby. I can handle a baby.”

“A baby and a nation? By yourself? While also making sure that the baby is safe from anyone, including Azula?” Iroh was skeptical, and had his no-nonsense face on. 

Throwing his hands up in the air, Zuko grumbled about people being overbearing and minding their own business. However, he closed his eyes and felt himself center.

_They just want to help. You trust them. Let them._

“Alright, are you guys set up in your rooms?”

“Sokka will stay in the guest bedroom in here. Katara and I will be down the hall.”

The two of them shared a disgustingly disturbing look that made Zuko feel like he was doused in cold water. 

“Gross.” Sokka said, looking like he swallowed something sour.

Both of them blushed, but instead of responding Katara gave a nod to Iroh, who guided them out of the room.

“Wait, uncle, you’re set up in the guest bedroom in here.”

“I think it’s time I get back to the White Lotus, nephew. Your friends will take good care of you.”

Completely stunned, he watched Katara, Aang, and Iroh leave him alone with Sokka and Izumi.

The little one was done with her bottle, and was now dozing in Sokka’s arms.

Now that everyone else had left, a chasm was created in their absence. 

“I can take her…” Zuko said awkwardly into the space that was between them. He was itching to hold her after his conversation with Azula.

“No, I got this. One of the local government workers wanted to have a meeting with you. They came in earlier. Go.”

Mild panic was creeping up on Zuko, but he watched the way Sokka was rocking Izumi. 

“You’ll need to burp her…”

“I know, my dude. Trust me,” the other man implored, his blue eyes flashing with far too much vulnerability for such a simple request.

Zuko turned to leave before Sokka laughed and muttered, “Maybe change your outer robe first, Fire Lord.”

Zuko remembered the formula on the back of his outfit, and stalked to his room, embarrassed.

“You’re welcome!”


	2. Tip Number Two: Babies Sleep Better on Soft Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka builds a fort. Zuko blows Sokka out of the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could it be? Another chapter?!
> 
> Yes, it could be! This whole mothafucka is completed. Just revising and editing to do. Hope you guys enjoy<3
> 
> Also, to my dear friend: Keep it up in med school! You can do this!
> 
> I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

**_***Sokka II***_ **

There was an infant in his arms.

She was so small and squishy, Sokka observed. Her face was pinched in sleep, and her one hand kept moving around as if she was trying to catch something.

His rational side knew he should put the baby down, but when he lowered her into her crib he just ended up leaning over it and staring anyway.

Zuko had trusted him to watch her, so he would be vigilant. 

After a little while, however, his arms started to ache. 

“You’re heavier than you look, baby,” Sokka observed, as if she would hear him, wake up, and decide to become lighter.

When no such miracle happened, Sokka placed her gently into her crib, where she immediately kicked towards the sky and then settled in.

He knew that if a baby were to flip over, there was a chance that they could suffocate and die. Tactically, this was not a viable option.

So he set to work.

When Katara came back in, she didn’t have Aang with her anymore. She walked up and saw Sokka’s work, containing her laughter best she could so that she wouldn’t wake the baby.

“Did you create a fort?”

“Yes! Fort Izumi is completely up to the task of keeping her sturdy in her sleep. I’m a genius.”

His sister’s eyes softened, brushing her hands gently over the baby’s small tuft of black hair on her head. Her stuffed animals were gathered around her in a strong wall to prevent her from turning over. She was held firmly in place.

“It’s so strange to me that Azula could make something so cute,” Katara muttered, looking troubled. Her hair was tied back, and Sokka realized that she looked extremely drained.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Katara brushed off, trying to school her features. Sokka saw right through her, though.

“They were really hurt, weren’t they?”

Katara deflated, giving herself a hug and avoiding eye contact. “The wounds had too long to set. I could repair a lot of the tissue, but the nerve damage on some of them is permanent.”

Considered one of the youngest expert healers in the world, Katara often felt that she was personally responsible whenever someone was hurt and she couldn’t help them. Aang and Sokka spent a lot of time trying to convince her otherwise, but she felt anyone else’s pain as her own.

Sokka wrapped his little sister up in his arms, placing his chin on her head. “You did everything you could, Katara. The fact that you could help them at all is a miracle.”

Something was dripping onto Sokka’s tunic, and he decided not to say anything about it as Katara clutched him tightly. 

They stood there for a long time, not saying anything, before Aang came in.

“I went to join Zuko’s meeting,” he reported. “I’m going to go help take care of the issue. It shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll leave in the morning.”

When the airbender saw his wife sniffling against Sokka’s chest, he breathed out and came to them, wrapping his own arms around them.

“Do you need any help?” Sokka asked, but Aang shook his head. 

“I’ll be fine. I’m taking some firebenders I know. Katara, you need to rest,” Aang gently turned her around, catching her as she almost fell.

His sister looked so small as Aang kissed her on the forehead. 

“I’ll get her back to the room so she can rest.”

Yet again, Sokka was left alone with Izumi. He glanced into the crib, and saw that her little hand was clasped around a small stuffed octopus shark. 

Fort Izumi was holding up well.

  
  


***

  
  


When Zuko wandered in, he immediately shed his outer robe and collapsed onto his couch, looking over at Sokka with desperation. “Please tell me she’s sleeping.”

Sokka nodded, getting up from the chair next to her crib. He wandered over and sat next to Zuko, making sure to leave enough space so that his friend didn’t feel uncomfortable.

“Aang is taking care of it. The public in that district like him better than me, anyway,” Zuko muttered, and it was clear that this hurt Zuko more than he was showing.

“Yeah, well, Aang is like the cool uncle. He sweeps in and does neat things for people, but at the end of the day you’re the one in charge of keeping everything running. Your people have grown to love you, Zuko.”

“Sure,” he said, pulling the crown insert from his hair and letting it tumble down. His hair had grown out, a sheet of black that was crimped in odd places from having it up all day.

Sokka couldn’t help but laugh, tugging his hair playfully. “Don’t let any of the ladies see you like this. I doubt they’d appreciate the ninety-degree angle of some of these strands.”

Freezing up, Zuko looked up at Sokka with something akin to guilt.

“What? Did I say something?” Sokka asked, confused, and Zuko seemed to snap out of it, standing abruptly. 

“No, of course not. Let me get the staff to bring us dinner. I’m sure you haven’t eaten.”

“Yes, I’m starving!” Sokka insisted, lighting up at the idea.

The two of them settled in for dinner, but Sokka was looking at the arrangement of food skeptically. “Zuko, there’s no meat here. Fire nation eats mostly meat.”

“Not anymore,” Zuko said, suddenly quite proud of himself. “We’ve started to change the diets of our citizens to include more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Some of my health ministers were reviewing studies that showed that it shortened the lifespan of most adults to eat too many animal biproducts. So we’re adding variety.”

“Then why isn’t there any meat? Variety means meat should still be on the menu!” Sokka felt himself grow irritated, pointing helplessly at the kale salad. “Aang rubbed off on you, didn’t he?!”

Shrugging, Zuko picked up a fruit and took a bite, the juices from it spilling down his chin in a way that looked distinctly un-lordly. Sokka found himself fixated by it, unable to look away as Zuko hummed at the taste.

“Try one, they’re excellent! We grow these at the edge of a volcano. It’s extremely fertile soil.”

“Sure,” Sokka said shakily, pulling his eyes away from the liquid that Zuko was now licking up messily from his chin. Then he picked one up for himself. It was light pink, and smelled like the perfume that Suki used to wear. 

When he bit in himself, it was like an explosion of flavor, and he found himself moaning too.

“Right? Isn’t it good?” Zuko said with sudden interest, watching Sokka’s reaction brightly. “Our agriculture department has been making so many changes. It’s incredible.”

He was so passionate, Sokka thought fondly. The Fire Lord continued to brag about his minister of agriculture hiring reformed fire nation war criminals to do the work and provide shelter and a real chance at redemption. He was sitting up straighter, flapping his hands around excitedly, and it was incredibly endearing.

Sokka rubbed the back of his hand over his chin, watching Zuko’s face inquisitively. “You look so stunning when you’re thriving.”

Both of them stopped, and Sokka felt his whole body lurch. Did he say that out loud? DID HE SAY THAT OU-

-at that moment, Aang and Katara popped their heads in. Aang saw the arrangement of food and gasped. “You’re trying it out! Vegetarianism is an incredible adventure.”

Zuko, however, was still staring at Sokka, completely blown away. Sokka couldn’t read the look, but he knew that something serious was ticking around behind those amber eyes.

As observant as Aang is, he must have decided to ignore them and came over to the couch on the other side, pulling lettuce wraps and vegetable fried rice and other items onto his plate hungrily.

He was quickly joined by Katara, who was looking between the two of them thoughtfully. She was quiet, eyes still drooping with exhaustion, but she picked up a few items to eat as well. 

The moment seemed to break, and the four of them settled into the meal comfortably, chatting inanely about how the trip was for them and Aang and Katara’s seasonal schedule. 

“So we were in the southern water tribe for the summer, and then we’ll be up in the colonies for the fall to help with some of the planning in Republic City. We’ll spend the winter in the western air temple with Toph and some of her earthbending students to rebuild it as best we can.”

The two of them clasped hands, smiling at each other like there was no one else in the world. The saccharine sweetness was too much to bear, and so Sokka decided to dig into his lettuce wrap as best he could without gagging.

When they all separated for the night, Zuko went to the side of Izumi’s crib and paused, frowning. 

“Did you build a wall around the baby?”

  
  


***

  
  


The first time Izumi started crying, Sokka rolled out of bed as quickly as possible. He knew Zuko had been dealing with this for weeks, and he was determined to be the one to take care of this one.

When he got out of his room, he saw that Zuko’s door was starting to open, so he rushed to the crib and cut Zuko off, scooping the baby up triumphantly. 

When he sniffed her, though, he had regrets.

Zuko blearily came towards him, his hair sticking up in all ways and glaring at Sokka. When he smelled the diaper, though, Zuko backed up. 

“All yours, buddy,” Zuko conceded, locking himself back into his room.

Sokka bounced Izumi, glancing down at her unhappy face with determination.

“Alright, Izumi. Let’s do this.”

  
  
  


**_***Zuko II***_ **

When Zuko wandered out of his room the next morning, he stopped short at the sight in front of him. 

Sokka was dead asleep on the couch, sitting up with his hand protectively around Izumi’s back. She was curled against his chest, sleeping just as soundly. Sokka was drooling against the pillow his head lumped towards, hair falling in its cropped style to frame his face.

There it was again, Zuko thought with annoyance. His heart was racing. He felt himself warm up at the sight. He wanted to do something, but he wasn’t sure what exactly he wanted to do.

He was restlessly twitching, unsure what to do with himself when someone knocked on the door to the main sitting room.

Panicked, Zuko rushed to the door and saw that it was his uncle, looking puzzled. Zuko closed the door gently behind him, holding his finger up to his lips. “Izumi is asleep.”

“She’s asleep often, and she doesn’t wake up easily,” Iroh said skeptically, furrowing his brow. “Also, I would like to kiss her goodbye before I head out.”

Breathing deeply, Zuko nodded. “I really wish you didn’t have to go, uncle.”

“I’ll be back in a few weeks to check in on things and provide an update on our mission. I’m sad, too, Zuko, but if you need me I’ll be here as quickly as the wind flies.”

Opening the door, Zuko felt a strange sense of protectiveness over the sight of Sokka on the couch with Izumi clutched close to his chest. Zuko watched the two of them again, then looked at his uncle nervously.

Iroh saw the two of them and chuckled. “Ah, I see. That’s what you don’t want to disturb.”

Why was Zuko blushing? “Yes.”

“Hmm,” Iroh said, looking between his nephew and the sleeping man again. He had an oddly knowing twinkle in his eye. 

Zuko moved towards the two of them asleep on the couch and put his hand on Sokka’s, the one laid on Izumi’s back. “Hey, my uncle wants to say goodbye to Izumi. Sokka?”

The water tribe man sat up with a start, holding the baby tighter to his chest on instinct. Zuko’s mouth went dry as he stammered, “Can I see her?”

Blinking rapidly, he seemed to realize what was happening and nodded, handing the baby to Zuko so he could bring her over to Iroh.

Iroh’s face was full of love and affection as he took in the baby, who was starting to rouse. He let her hand grab his finger, and placed a kiss on the fist. “Goodbye, little one. You are so loved. Uncle Iroh will be back before you know it.”

Aching to hug his uncle, Zuko was uncertain what to do with the baby before Sokka came behind him and held his own arms out for her. It was almost like his friend could read his mind, and it was both comforting and unsettling simultaneously.

Zuko immediately wrapped his arms around his uncle, whose laughter vibrated through his own chest. “Be gentle with an old man, Zuko. I’m not as young as I used to be.”

Instead of heeding the warning Zuko hugged him tighter. “Travel safely, uncle. Send me a letter when you get there.”

“Of course!” Iroh reassured, pulling away and patting Zuko on the shoulder. “I’ll see you soon, Fire Lord Zuko. General Sokka.”

With a deferential nod, Iroh left the room.

Sokka gave Zuko a friendly punch on the shoulder. “He’s going to be fine. Stop worrying.”

Turning around, Zuko raised an eyebrow. “Have you met me?”

“Right, never mind. Just focus on the super fun plans I have for today!”

“Plans?”

  
  


***

Plans, apparently, included weeks of activities for the four of them.

Katara and Sokka put on a puppet show for Izumi, and bought her a bunch of toys from a local market. Aang and Katara spent a lot of time distracting her while Zuko went off to take meetings, and it was the first time in weeks that he felt like he had everything under control.

Sokka was the only one who could get Izumi to eat, and so Zuko found himself transfixed by Sokka’s peaceful expression as he fed her, looking too adorable for words. 

Then, at night, Zuko would wake up at Izumi’s crying and he would wander into the main room with Sokka. They would make some grunting acknowledgement of whose turn it was, and then one of them would rock her back to sleep or change her diaper.

In the mornings, the two of them rose early and sat in the royal suite’s sitting room, having their morning tea and breakfast. Eventually, Zuko would have some meeting to go to, or Aang and Katara would arrive, but Zuko cherished those mornings.

It almost felt like… no, it couldn’t be.

Zuko could ignore the growing  _ something _ between them, at least for a while, until one afternoon Sokka said he had a surprise.

So now Zuko was staring at what was laid out in front of him. 

It was a picnic. A blue blanket laid out with two baskets, next to a small bathing pool. It was far out in the woods, far enough that they ended up taking mounts to get to the destination.

“Sokka, this looks like…”

“Don’t think about it too much,” Sokka insisted with a raised voice, clearing his throat. “I just wanted to do something special for you.”

Zuko had begrudgingly left Izumi with Katara in order to come on this adventure with Sokka. She was still recovering from healing yesterday, and was very content to relax with the baby for a few hours.

He kept attempting to check on her, as if she was nearby. He’d feel like there was a weight slung across his front and realize that it was more like a phantom limb. Nothing was there, but something felt like it was missing.

Now they were standing in front of this soft blanket. Warm air was filtering sleepily through the trees, making the whole scene so tranquil.

They both had opted to wear more casual clothes, and Zuko was glad because he saw that there were towels laid out on the blanket as well.

“Are we going swimming?” Zuko asked, looking over at Sokka inquisitively.

Sokka nodded. “Please. I’m not used to fire nation summers and I’m dying of heat stroke! Your rooms are always so cool…”

“We have an antichamber system…”

“Which I totally want to know more about but right now,” he stood up straight, hands flying to the bottom of his shirt before reconsidering. “I need water. First, however, food!”

The two of them settled in and ate their fill. There was iced jasmine tea, courtesy of Iroh’s tea stores, sandwiches, salad, and a whole container of Zuko’s favorite fruit.

His eyes widened, and Sokka laughed as he handed the fruit over and watched Zuko intently as he bit in.

Closing his eyes in contentment, Zuko held out the bowl blindly. “Take one.”

“S-sure,” the other man said, and Zuko could swear he seemed nervous.

They chatted about their lives, including Sokka leaving his recruits in the hands of his second, Tano. Zuko explained the ins and outs of reparations, which took up about fifty percent of Zuko’s time. The fire nation was saving tons of money on troops and upkeep of the colonies and conquered territories, but most of it was just going back into those conquered territories.

“It’s important,” Zuko said pointedly, “I would never back out, but it can get exhausting.”

After a little more conversation about the new plans circulating regarding Republic City, the two of them looked at the pool. 

Sokka stripped without a single care in the world, exposing his chest to the clearing. Zuko wasn’t able to help his eyes from roaming Sokka’s chest. He was so toned and strong, had grown so much since the skinny water tribe boy traveling the world with the Avatar. He was well fed, and well worked. Zuko had the oddest desire to touch his skin to see if there was any give, or if it was as rock solid as it seemed.

Once Sokka glanced over to see if he was disrobing too, Zuko caught up to the program and started with his own shirt, almost falling over in the process. He heard Sokka’s laughter fill the clearing, and the sound itself made Zuko’s chest ache.

Once Zuko had pulled down his own pants to strip to his underclothes, he glanced over to see that Sokka had paused in his own stripping.

Frowning, Zuko walked towards the water, asking, “You alright?”

“Yeah,” the younger man said in a daze, snapping himself out of it. “Yeah, I’m coming!”

Zuko waded into the water, trying his best to avoid looking back and watching Sokka reveal his legs. He didn’t think he had the strength for that.

The water was a little chillier than Zuko was expecting, but he knew he’d acclimate to it quickly enough. Plus, he didn’t think Sokka would appreciate it if he turned it into a hot tub.

Speaking of him, Zuko heard the sound of splashing, and turned to see Sokka slowly lowering himself into the pool. 

He was in a pair of shorts that could barely be called shorts, Zuko thought dizzily. His muscular thighs were practically popping out of them, and his perfect v-cut below his abdomen led to…

“Hey, Zuko? Eyes up here, buddy,” Sokka said with a nervous laugh, waving his hand in front of the Fire Lord’s face. Zuko wanted to drown, right then and there. Actually, that was what he was going to do.

As he went underwater in mortification, he felt hands clasp him under his arms and lift him up. Without warning Zuko panicked and flailed, and only a few seconds later Zuko found himself seated in Sokka’s lap, both of them half collapsed by the edge.

Neither of them seemed to breathe.

Sokka opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it just as quickly.

Minutes or hours passed, before Zuko felt something stirring underneath him, pressing against his thigh.

Mortified, Zuko found himself wanting to grind down on it.

With that thought, Zuko elected to go die. Regrettably, he remembered how well that went last time. Instead he quickly scrambled away, righting himself so that they were staring at each other with impossibly wide eyes and red cheeks.

“Zuko, I’m…” Sokka stammered, but was cut off.

“I’m gay,” Zuko asserted, holding up both his hands. “I’m sorry, Sokka, but I thought you should know.”

They continued to stare at each other, the water starting to settle after Zuko’s movement. The shadows from the trees above made it feel like they were all by themselves, but… they weren’t. They were out in the open.

The firebender was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Sokka to leave in disgust or show him pity, but instead Sokka just said, “Oh.”

“Oh? That’s all you have to say?” Zuko yelled, throwing his hands into the air and causing impromptu rain to fall around him.

Sokka stuttered, “What do you want me to say? I don’t know what the right thing is to say here! Congratulations? I’m sorry? Thank you? Let me set you up with one of my friends…”

“No,” Zuko’s stomach dropped out, and he hugged himself tightly. “No, I just… I don’t know what I wanted you to say.”

Sokka’s eyebrows furrowed, and he looked like he wanted to come closer but chose not to. “Zuko, I don’t care about that.”

“I… you…” Zuko felt his fingers start to spark in midair, and he quickly threw them under the water so that he didn’t light the trees on fire, “You seemed to care at least a little bit when I was sitting in your lap!”

Now it was Sokka’s turn to get angry. “What do you expect! You’re sitting there looking all yummy and then sit in my lap and expect me not to… react?!”

“Yummy,” Zuko deadpanned, “You just called me yummy.”

“I didn’t… I’m not… I’m not good with words! I’m an action guy!”

Zuko felt the water around him warm as his hands continued to shoot off fire that immediately was doused. “What kind of action can you do in this scenario to… what are you doing?”

The water tribesman had suddenly gotten a determined look on his face, blue eyes like wildfire as he swam across the pool in three strokes and came right up into Zuko’s space, leveling a look at him that made Zuko tremble.

“Like I said,” Sokka whispered, mouth approaching Zuko’s at an unbearably slow pace, “I’m an action guy.”

Something blew up.

Both literally and figuratively.

Figuratively, when Sokka claimed Zuko’s lips his entire world was thrown into chaos, opening doors that had been locked tight for years. So many possibilities and wants and desires came tumbling to the surface, making Zuko see stars as their bodies came together.

Then, unfortunately, his bending activated, and the water around them bubbled and shot up. They were both unceremoniously thrown away from each other.

Zuko’s breathing was heavy as he made eye contact with Sokka. They were both too stunned to speak.

“So, uh, yeah, I just remembered I have a thing. So, I’m going to ride back to the palace. Yup. That’s what I’m going to do.”

“Zuko, wait!”

Zuko didn’t even bother grabbing his clothes past putting on his pants. As soon as he was on his mount he was gone.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being awesome, guys! I appreciate all the support, kudos, and comments. 
> 
> If you like this, you can check out some of my other fics!


	3. Tip Number Three: Let Katara Give The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara blows Sokka's mind. Zuko fights teddy bears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone<3
> 
> Things pick up a little bit in this chapter. It gets kind of intense. Be prepared my loves.
> 
> Also, to my dear friend: I know that your classes make you weary, so don't forget a little self-love in the form of Zukka fanfic magic. 
> 
> I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

**_***Sokka III***_ **

When he wandered into the royal sitting room, Sokka saw that his sister was busy playing with Izumi. The little girl was held upright by a chair, and Katara was using some water to create little ice animals that were dancing around.

Izumi was enraptured.

“You’re back early,” Katara said, looking over at her brother. “How did you date go?”

Sokka’s face heated up and he felt himself exploding. “It was not a date! It was just… two bros… I just… I wanted to spend time with him and make him feel… better…” he trailed off, thinking over his words again. “Oh no. It was a date.”

“Boys can be very slow sometimes, Izumi,” Katara said in a sing-songy voice, “look at this one, for example, who is both smart and clueless.”

Sokka sat down on the floor, dazed. It wasn’t meant to be a date. It was supposed to be… what? Alone time to get Zuko’s mind off of things? Having the kitchen arrange for all of Zuko’s favorites? Pulling him into his lap and realizing that he didn’t want to let him go back in the water?

Kissing him, after the firebender admitted something he must have been terrified to admit?

“What is wrong with me!?” Sokka yelled, voice picking up an octave, “I thought I was the ultimate ladies man!”

Katara raised her eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not gay, Katara! Or, at least, I wasn’t yesterday! There’s some sort of weird vibes in this palace. Maybe a gay spirit running amok…”

That was the exact moment that Aang ducked in, looking bemused and covered in soot. “What about a gay spirit?”

“Aang, do you sense any spiritual energy around me right now!?”

Sokka leapt forward and placed the Avatar’s hand on his head, staring up at him hopefully.

“You know what,” Aang begun, closing his eyes, “I think I do feel something. It feels like a big eared hog monkey.”

Groaning, Sokka slapped Aang’s hands away as the air nomad bent over laughing at Sokka's expense. “You’re a useless Avatar!”

“That hurts, Sokka,” Aang said, feigning being upset, “Right here.”

He banged against his chest, sending a poof of smoke into the air. Both of them coughed, and Katara made an angry noise. “Go get dressed Aang! The soot isn’t good for the baby to breathe. Also, when you get back you can explain why you look like you ran through a field of a hundred fire benders.”

Laughing uncomfortably, Aang scratched his head and then ducked out of the room.

Left alone with his sister once again, Sokka went to her on bent knees, a pleading look in his eyes. “Katara, my lovely sister, am I gay?”

Her sharp glare could cut steel as she clucked her tongue at him. “I guess your relationship with Suki for three years was nothing then, huh?”

“What? Of course it wasn’t! That’s what I’m saying! I can’t be gay!”

“Alright, I’m going to blow your mind,” Katara said slowly, transforming the icy giraffe and hippo she was using for Izumi in front of Sokka. “A guy,” she turned one into a man, “can like guys,” she turned the other one into a man, “and girls.”

Then there was a woman and the man, and Sokka looked between the two of them rapidly. “Does that mean I need both at the same time?!”  
  


“No, idiot!” Katara bonked him with the heel of her hand, which made Izumi giggle. “It means you can have feelings for both! Not necessarily at the same time!”

Perhaps the correct word for what he experienced next would be a supernova.

So much rushed in and threw him off balance. The feelings he’d had since he got here, ones that were so confusing, made sudden sense. The way he had looked at other men in the past, thinking it was normal to check out their physique and lick his lips and… oh. Right.

Also the way he tumbled so easily into love with women counterbalanced that, made him see clearly.

“Look, Izumi,” Katara said then, patting Sokka on the head like she was reassuring a dog, “Sokka used his brain. It was probably really hard for him.”

“Shut up!” Sokka said, shuffling back out of her range of motion. “This is a serious moment for me!”

“While you’re having your serious moment,” Katara said then, handing Sokka a bottle, “Izumi hasn’t eaten since you fed her this morning. Apparently you and Zuko are the only ones who can get her to eat.”

Sokka looked at the bottle in his hand, then at the infant who was reaching towards the floating ice figures with fascination. Gently, he lifted her out of the seat and into his lap, using his normal latching technique to get her to attach to the bottle and start sucking.

“I swear I do the same thing. It’s what Gram-Gram taught us, right?”

“Maybe she just likes me better,” Sokka said smugly, sticking his tongue out at his sister.

She stuck her tongue back out at him, saying, “Maybe she likes you because she sees the way Zuko looks at you.”

The words made his heart flutter, but he insisted, “I think she likes me because I’m gentle and have a manly scent!”

“Does Zuko not have a manly scent?”

“Well he definitely smells like smoke, but not like burning, and there’s also this sweet note that I couldn’t place until he told me about his favorite fruit,” Sokka said thoughtfully. Katara was smiling evilly. 

“Alright, fine, maybe I like both,” Sokka muttered.

When Izumi was done feeding, he lifted her onto his shoulder to pat her back. “I guess I like Zuko,” he tried out on his tongue, letting it sink in.

“I’m glad you caught up with the program,” Katara said again, still appearing amused with herself. 

“I like… Zuko…” he said slowly, trying to take in each syllable.

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

“Oh… oh no, where is he!?”

Katara frowned. “I don’t know. He hasn’t come back yet.”

“I have to find him,” Sokka handed Izumi off carefully, rushing out the door. He literally ran into Aang on the way, who immediately asked if he was okay, but he didn’t care.

He had a yummy firebender to find.

  
  


***

  
  


It took over an hour of sprinting around the palace before Sokka finally found him, sitting quietly in a courtyard.

Sokka took a minute, or three, to catch his breath. Zuko hadn’t noticed him heaving by the entryway, however, which made it so that Sokka could fix his hair and smell his breath real quick.

The sun was starting to set, the early evening buzz starting to settle in. The fire nation was alive, but the heat usually kept the bugs and animals inside during the blistering summer days. In the cool hours of late afternoon, they started to rise, announcing their presence loudly and proudly. _Definitely fire nation bugs_ Sokka thought sagely.

After gathering himself up to full height, and evening out his breath, Sokka marched towards the seated figure. A few steps later, however, he felt that his speed was too forceful, and decided to slow it down to a leisurely pace so as not to seem too invested. He found, though, that the closer he got to Zuko the harder it was to go slowly.

Overthinking

It was like the world was turned upside down. How was Sokka this blind to not notice the way Zuko’s hair looked like silk to run his fingers through? How had he never recognized that Zuko’s neck was long enough for him to nibble on for days?

_Okay, Sokka, clearly you're a little horny_ he chastised himself, instead recognizing that Zuko was slumped over, looking defeated.

“Zuko?”

The firebender didn’t turn, instead snapping his fingers on and off to light them up. He messed with different colors, which Sokka couldn’t help but wonder at.

“You know, it’s been really hard knowing that I would never be able to be a true Fire Lord. I always panic, wondering if my people know, or even if they’d care. I know Aang always said that the air nation was accepting of these things, but the air nation is dead.”

Instead of responding, Sokka took a seat an arm’s length away, listening intently. 

“So what do I do? I can always marry a woman just to give off appearances, but I can’t do that to someone else. I loved Mai too much to let her go, and it was cruel of me. I couldn’t give her what she wanted. Us breaking up had been a relief to both of us.”

Sokka wanted to reach out and touch him, to give him some reassurance, but he also wanted to let Zuko get this out.

“My father suspected, I think. I always wondered if maybe that was why he disowned me, so that way he didn’t have to deal with having a queer be his successor. I just don’t know if I can really be myself. So when I tell someone, it’s terrifying to me. I’ve only told a few people, because I have to keep this secret until I make a real decision. Aang was one, and Mai, and now you.”

Zuko looked up at Sokka for the first time, and there was so much conflict and fear in those eyes. Those amber eyes somehow made him look both too young and too old to be dealing with this, and Sokka felt it echo in his chest.

“I want to support you,” Sokka admitted, setting aside his declaration for now. Zuko needed this more, this support of a friend. Sokka took his hand, making sure he didn’t break eye contact as he declared, “I don’t reject you at all. I think your nation would be stupid to judge you for who you love, but I respect your decision if you don’t want to tell them.”

Tears sprung to Zuko’s eye, and he nodded to himself. “I think I knew that. I never thought you’d reject my friendship. I just… I don’t think you realized what it felt like. The picnic, the pool, the way you are with Izumi…”

“Lord Zuko, there has been a break out at the prison! Azula has escaped!”

They both darted up and whirled to see one of Zuko’s attendants shaking and panting in the entryway to the courtyard. 

“Get the guards stationed at every entrance to the royal suite. Send word to Aang and Katara immediately!” Zuko frantically looked over at Sokka, who squeezed his shoulder in response.

“Let’s go get her.”

**_***Zuko III***_ **

When Azula was four, she had forced Zuko to play with her dolls. He hated it, but at his mother’s request he’d pretended to enjoy himself. 

They were at a tea party, and Azula was introducing all of those who were gathered.

“This is Mr. Dagger, and this is Cuddly Pants. This is Zuzu, and this is my daughter!”

Azula held up her delicate glass doll, made especially for her. 

“Now that we’re all gathered, I’d like to discuss the secret mission to take down the Teddy Bear kingdom.”

Zuko frowned. “Does your daughter have a name?”

Scowling, Azula tossed a toy tea cup at him, and it bounced off the floor hardily after he ducked.

“Anyway, here are your assignments!”

Azula gave them all jobs. Zuko was in charge of taking down the enemy towers. Azula had perfectly recreated the northern water tribe, with the tiers, towers, and even advanced naval forces.

Bored, Zuko loaded up his slingshot and started knocking the teddy bears out of their towers one by one. 

Azula guided her other friends and directed them herself. They had almost breached the outer wall when Azula picked up a teddy bear and captured her “daughter” doll. 

“Oh no!” Azula screamed, but then, as herself, she yelled, “Move on, troops! Don’t let her failure slow you down!”

Zuko watched in horror as Azula used a teddy bear to hit her doll until the cheek cracked. She grinned, looking at it viciously.

“Why did you do that!?” Zuko yelled, disturbed and unsure exactly what he was seeing.

Azula blinked, looking confused by his outburst. “What? You can’t have anything holding you back, Zuzu.”

  
  


***

Aang and Katara had met him and Sokka in the front courtyard, where an airship was getting ready to take off. Aang was holding Izumi tight against his chest, checking around him carefully in case of blue fire. 

“How much longer?” Zuko yelled at the engineer, who chewed his lip. 

“We’ll need a few minutes, sir.”

Sokka grabbed his hand, though, looking concerned. “This doesn’t make sense, Zuko. She could have escaped at any time. Why now?”

“I don’t have time to dissect my crazy sister’s logic, Sokka! I need to get the baby out of here!”

“He’s right, Zuko,” Aang interjected, “Something is wrong. We’re not seeing the whole picture.”

“I don’t care, I’m getting Izumi out of here!” Zuko yelled, pointing at the airship. He felt too crazed to think, overrun with the urge to get Izumi far, far away from danger. “We can figure the rest out later.”

They all climbed onto the ship, but Zuko paused, looking around. 

“I’ll stay here to hold her off. You guys go.”

“No, no way!” Katara yelled, “Remember the last time you faced her? It took both of us to take her down.”

“She’s not after me, she’s after Izumi. We just have to keep her distracted long enough for the airship to get away.”

“Then what?” Sokka said next, the panic in his voice giving Zuko pause. “You’re the Fire Lord, you can’t just use yourself as a distraction. People depend on you!”

“I’ll be okay. She’s weak, and if things get hairy I have guards on standby. I just don’t want them getting in the middle if they don’t have to.”

Zuko smiled at them all, his friends, as the engineer told them to come inside so they could take off.

Then he watched them go, feeling like a part of himself was disappearing with them.

His heart was jack hammering as he looked around himself, trying to catch sight of movement on the rooftops or flashes of light. He tried to riddle out what Sokka was thinking when he said that the timing was odd.

Why would Azula wait? Or, why would she rush? There had to be something she was waiting for, something that would make now the right time…

...he froze then.

He didn't remember ordering the airship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up! Be prepared, next chapter is all action and plot. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone leaving kudos and comments<3 If you're feeling up to it, go ahead and share this fic! Otherwise, check out some of my other fics!


	4. Tip Number Four: Monsters Are Not Born, They Are Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka makes a bold decision to protect Izumi. Zuko and Aang make a hard choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW/SPOILER ALERT*****There is fighting, and angst, and action. People get injured but no one dies. 
> 
> To my good friend in med school: I'M SORRY! YOU KNOW I CAN'T WRITE A STORY WITHOUT ANGST AND PLOT!! FORGIVE ME!!!
> 
> As always, I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

**_***Sokka IV***_ **

He put it together within five minutes. He was pacing the captain’s deck, waiting for Zuko to start fighting.

_ Why now? What was Azula planning? _

She would want to get Izumi isolated from as many guards as possible, so she could have snuck in one of the windows of the royal suite. Why wouldn’t she do that? They saw no sign of her the whole way out of the palace.

What is the best way to isolate the baby, and make sure Zuko isn’t standing in her way?

“No, no no no no… Aang! Katara!”

His feet couldn’t carry him fast enough to where Aang and Katara were tucked above deck in the captain’s quarters, guarding the baby. 

He heard the banging and screams from down the hall, and he pulled out his boomerang and sword hastily. The hallway seemed to grow longer and longer, keeping him from his destination and putting those he loved further in danger.

When he turned the corner, he saw that the door was shut tight, and the hallway was already heating up from the firebending on the other side.

Without hesitation, he opened the door and took in the scene ahead of him.

Azula, looking haggard in her prison uniform, had fire whips unfurled in the close quarters. Katara was maintaining a small, safe membrane of water, firing off small ice daggers while Aang stood in front of them.

It took a moment, but Sokka saw that Izumi was curled up in Katara’s lap. 

None of them were hurt. They were okay.

“Stop, Azula. You’re outnumbered.”

“Not outmatched, though, I don’t think.”

Aang narrowed his eyes. “It’s been a long time since you faced me, Azula. I’m a very different bender than I was back then.”

“I don’t need to defeat you,” Azula reasoned, twitching a little bit as her predatory gaze lingered Katara’s shield.

“You can’t bend in here!” Sokka yelled just as Aang was getting into position to fire bend. “It’ll heat up like an oven. We’ll all get roasted before we have a chance to really fight!”

His hopes that reasoning would fix the problem went out the window when Azula smiled wickedly. “Good.”

Then breathed, ready to unleash.

Sokka had seconds to come up with a plan. If Katara or Aang used bending, Azula would just roast them alive. If Azula made the first move, they’d hold her off for a few, but she was blocking the exit.

He’d been thinking about this since he realized Azula’s plan. The layout of the airship was familiar enough, and he was an expert at what he was about to do.

So he lunged, ripping into the wall next to them with his sword. Azula was too surprised to do anything but scream before Sokka tackled her out into the open air.

Turns out, falling hurts.

He was whipped in every direction, trying to keep himself stable enough to keep his head. Azula was trying her best to fire bend to slow down, but she was clearly having trouble figuring out which way was up.

She even tried to punch fire at him at one point, which ended up with her singeing the ends of her own hair.

The thought that kept Sokka from losing his mind was knowing that he saved them. His sister, Aang, and the baby. There was no other way out of that situation. They would have all roasted alive, Azula included.

He knew she would figure out how to keep herself from hitting the ground. Something like this wouldn’t set her back from living, but the airship was definitely too far away for her to rocket back up to it.

Making peace with that fact, Sokka closed his eyes and thought about the things that made him happy.

That hug he had with both Katara and Aang. Sitting under the stars with his recruits, telling each other stories about the constellations to carry on the oral history of the southern water tribe. Watching his sister’s face glow on her wedding day. Laughing with his friends around the fire while the five of them were preparing for Sozin’s Comet.

Holding the Fire Lord’s hand as he spilled out all of his fears.

Falling asleep with the comforting weight of a baby on his chest.

He closed his eyes and waited for the final impact.

**_***Zuko IV***_ **

There was someone screaming nearby, like the very world was shaking apart. It was maddening, and Zuko wanted to tell them to stop, to put whatever was wrong aside. His sister and the man he loved were falling out of the sky.

It took a few seconds before he realized that he was the one screaming.

Sokka was right, he should have taken a moment to think. Clearly Azula had been planning this for days, finding the right guard to bribe someone on the airship to be ready to leave at the same time people would be notified of her escape.

Manipulative and vindictive, just like she’s always been.

He could do nothing as he watched Azula tumble and fail to find the balance she needed to start her fire bending launch, and then gasped in surprise when her feet spluttered to life in the right direction.

Then, even more surprising, she grabbed Sokka out of thin hair and lowered them slowly to the ground. 

When they landed, she screamed, kicking Sokka across the face before he even had enough time to get his bearings. The water tribe warrior went tumbling, and there were a few distinct snaps that made Zuko want to be sick. 

Zuko ran to where they landed, gathering up his strength as he went. Azula didn’t get what she wanted. She would throw a tantrum, and he knew how to handle those.

Or, at least, he had a vague idea.

“Azula stop! She got away! There’s no point, give up!”

“I won’t!” she snarled, stalking to Sokka and pressing her foot onto his face. The other man was still, far too still, and Zuko felt his chest clench. 

“Why? Why do you want to kill her so badly?” Zuko was feeling so helpless, wanting to reach his sister. She was sick, so very sick, and he had to make sure that she couldn’t hurt herself or anyone else.

Her face twisted up in agony, and her foot lifted up as if to smash Sokka’s face in.

There was no time to firebend, so instead he ran headlong and tackled her to the ground.

_ Then _ they started to firebend. 

It had been so long since he battled his sister, he almost forgot how precise and quick she could be. Her fighting style was a rapier. Swift, decisive, exact.

However, Zuko was always twin swords, two things coming together to make a stronger whole.

He learned how to firebend from more than just the dragons and his uncle.

He’d learned to firebend while he trained with Katara, mastering water bending move sets. 

He’d learned while he meditated with Aang and worked with him on understanding the airbending method of conserving energy and moving with the flow of the battle.

Finally, he’d learned how to stand his ground and hold the line, using the field to his advantage. That one he learned from Toph.

Each of those styles took turns to be his second sword, weaving their knowledge in with his own bending to create something more powerful than either of them independently. 

So, as they twisted and turned around each other, it was as chaotic and terrifying as a fight with any other element. Zuko felt her fire twist and turn around him as he used airbender defense, earth bender attacks, and redirection from waterbending.

Azula was quick, but she still had trouble keeping up.

At least, until Zuko made one wrong move that had him stumbling backwards, Azula’s fire coming directly at his chest.

Everything slowed down, and Zuko thought this would be it. This would be the end for him.

That’s what he thought, at least, until the ground beneath him flipped over and he was suddenly in the catacombs beneath the front courtyard area.

He heard sounds of fighting above him, and before he could even wonder what happened he was pulled back up to the surface, coughing up dirt.

“I’m sorry I’m late, but I figure this makes up for it,” came a voice from nearby, and Zuko almost sobbed when he saw Toph leaning against a few rocks jutting out of the ground. Azula was on the ground, her head bleeding.

“Before you ask, not dead,” Toph cut him off, cracking her neck. “Just hit her with a tiny rock in the side of the head. She’ll just be out for a while and have a terrible concussion.”

Zuko did sob now, falling to his knees and looking at the tiny, delicate features of his homicidal maniac sister.

“Why, Azula? What was any of this for?”

“Uh, Fire Lord, why is Sokka barely breathing?”

Zuko shot up, and both of them started running. 

Somehow, Sokka looked so small on the ground. The General, and warrior, and team Avatar strategist was lying as still as the dead. 

Collapsing next to him, Zuko put his ear to Sokka’s chest, hearing a heartbeat. Collapsing with relief, Zuko repeated, “Why is he having trouble breathing?”

“Maybe something happened when Azula kicked him, but I’m not a doctor, I don’t know these things!”

“Help me!” Zuko begged, trying to figure out how to lift him up without causing any more damage.

Toph moved him out of the way and set her stance, pulling the earth from beneath Sokka up and lifting it like a stretcher.

“I’ve got him. Grab Azula.”

  
  


***

  
  


When Toph and Zuko stumbled into the infirmary carrying Azula and Sokka, the medical sages screamed at the sight of the floating rock.

Then they screamed when they saw Azula, and Zuko wondered which one they feared more: the dying man or the rogue royal.

Toph very carefully lowered him to the ground, and then turned and used her metal cuffs to attach Azula’s wrists to the wall above her, and then her ankles below her. 

Zuko took that opportunity to fall down over Sokka’s head, trying to see any movement in the face he loved so much. 

There wasn’t even a twitch. His lips were turning blue, and Zuko, in a daze, wondered if he was cold.

Zuko felt like a chasm was opening in his chest as he watched the sages work and waited for an update. One of them felt around in his chest very lightly and then pulled away quickly, like she had tried to dismantle a bomb.

“Fire Lord Zuko, I need you to remain calm when I tell you this,” the elder sage said in her ever-patient voice, and Zuko knew that this would be bad news.

He tried his best to check his emotions as he rasped, “Tell me.”

“He has three broken ribs. It seems one of them has put pressure on his lung and collapsed it. He’s suffocating.”

As if it was happening to him, Zuko’s own breath caught in his chest, making the room feel like it was spinning.

He turned around to look at the sage who was checking on Azula, and they confirmed that she was fine besides the head wound.

“What can we do?” Zuko asked raggedly, desperately trying to catch the healer’s eyes.

Sighing, she stood up. “There’s nothing we can do. We can’t fix a collapsed lung. We can just make sure he’s comfortable.”

His ears were ringing.

Zuko couldn’t have heard that right.

Sokka couldn’t die. He was just here, earlier that day. They had spent weeks together, talking in the early hours of the morning and playing with Izumi. Aang and Katara had even joined them, and it kind of felt like… 

... it felt like a double date.

Zuko’s eyes started to mist up.

“You can’t die on me, Sokka! I command it! You will not leave me!”

He heard a sob from somewhere else in the room, and assumed it was Toph. 

“We were just starting to figure it out! Izumi loves you, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Then, in a quieter voice whispered so that only Sokka could hear, he muttered, “We were just starting to feel like a family.”

Apparently he wasn’t as quiet as he thought, because Toph had now run to Sokka’s side, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly. “You don’t get to go like this, you idiot!”

That was when Aang and Katara burst into the room. 

They took one look at Toph and Zuko over Sokka’s crumpled body and fell into simultaneous expressions of horror.

“No, Sokka, no,” Aang mumbled, falling to his knees at Sokka’s other side.

“No, everyone up!” Katara yelled, whipping water out of her pouch and snapping it at Zuko and Toph.

They both fell back instinctively so that Katara could take up a place on the other side of Sokka.

Her and Aang looked at each other, and an understanding passed between them. Zuko felt a smaller hand clasp his forearm, and pulled Toph towards him, tucking her head under his chin as they both waited.

Katara took the water and murmured urgently to Aang, who had started to gather some air in a ball in his hand. The water glowed, and she brought it down to her brother’s lower left pec. She concentrated hard, and some of the glowing water was sent to Sokka’s lips.

Aang pinched Sokka’s nose and tilted his head back to open the airway, and then the glowing water slipped inside.

It was clear, based off of Katara’s face, that this was incredibly difficult. She was gritting her teeth and shaking, moving her hands as fluidly as possible to keep everything moving.

Then, with a gasp, Sokka started coughing hysterically, trying to get the water out of his chest.

Aang was there to rush air in, and Sokka’s eyes flew open.

In seconds he was tackled into a hug by all four of them, while he struggled to free himself. “Guys, why are you freaking out?”

Katara sobbed a bit and hugged him tighter. “You’re okay. That’s what matters.”

Aang, however, had broken the huddle. Zuko got up with him, both of them surveying Azula warily.

“I didn’t want to take her bending,” Aang said roughly. “I thought we could contain her.”

“We were wrong,” Zuko said shakily. His little sister still looked so small and innocent while she was passed out. He wanted to protect her, still, even though he knew that she was one of the most dangerous women in the world.

Aang swallowed nervously. “I don’t want to do this, but I have no choice.”

They both stared at her with trepidation, and then asked Toph to take her out of her restraints.

Zuko caught her, swinging her into his arms in a bridal style. Aang and him left the infirmary, heading back to the prison.

It was quiet on the walk. It was clear that neither of them knew what to say in this instance. Zuko knew that this would break Azula even further than she was already broken. However, if they didn’t take her bending away, she would never stop coming after Izumi.

When they got to hers, Zuko carefully leaned her against the wall. For a second, she stirred, slurring, “Zuzu? Is that you?”

Aang and him made eye contact, and Zuko took her hand as Aang pressed his fingers to her.

“I’m right here.”

“Do you think I could see her? I just want to hold her once.”

Her voice was so innocent, lulling him into a false sense of security. It made him regret his decision instantly, but he knew what needed to be done.

“Why did you want to hurt her, Azula?” Zuko asked, but Aang’s head was thrown back, his eyes lighting up with his tattoos. Azula’s eyes flung open wide, and she let out a desperate sob that broke his heart.

When Aang and her slumped back to the earth, his friend touched Zuko’s shoulder. “I’m going to go see how the rest are doing. Take your time, she’ll be weak for a while.”

So Zuko was left alone with his little sister.

He helped her over to the sleeping mat, where she collapsed and began tossing around with a shrill wail.

“Azula, it’s done. Your bending is gone.”

She stilled then, eyes completely bloodshot as she looked over at her brother. There was a crazed desperation there that made Zuko’s skin crawl. 

“Why did you want to hurt her, Azula?”

At that, Azula curled into a ball. “I want to spare her.”

Stunned, Zuko asked, “By killing her?”

“What if she turned out like me!?” Azula snapped, sitting up and then falling helplessly back. Her energy was completely zapped. “What if she turns into a monster? Our mother knew what I was and wanted to end me. I should do the same for my daughter.”

In the silence afterward, Zuko felt sick. He heard the rustling of keys from guards attending to other cells. His mouth was wide open, and he felt his throat start to close up.

“She’s not mine now anyway, is she? I don’t want her. She’s yours. You’ll get to be the one to watch her grow up. You’ll have to deal with her if she slowly becomes me.”

Leaning forward, Zuko brushed her wild and greasy hair from her face, catching sight of the amber eyes they shared. “I love you, Azula. Someday you’ll be better, and you can meet her. Maybe then you’ll see that you’re wrong.”

She laughed weakly, swatting Zuko’s hand away. “I doubt it, Zuzu.”

As Zuko walked away, he heard her begin her sobs anew. He couldn’t get out of the prison fast enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Zuko and Sokka make important decisions about their futures
> 
> If you like this, check out some of my other fics! Also, if you could leave a kudos, comment, or even share the fic, that'd be awesome!


	5. Tip Number Five: Two Dads Are Better Than One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three times when Zuko fails to ask Sokka something, and one time that he does

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, folks! I'm so happy with this fic. Your comments, feedback, and kudos have meant everything to me. It has brought me great joy to write this, and I hope you guys enjoy the ending as much as I did<3 
> 
> To my lovely friend in med school: You're so fucking fierce and strong. You can do this. I believe in you with my whole heart. Also, here's some Zukka to cheer you up.
> 
> As always, I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

**_***Sokka V***_ **

It turns out that almost dying has its perks.

For example, everyone comes to him. This morning, Aang and Katara brought him breakfast, and played games with him. Apparently he’d fallen asleep after they saved him and was passed out until morning.

The healers came to check on him, feeling around his chest to make sure everything set correctly. 

Midday, however, Sokka heard someone pause in front of the door, as if gathering up courage. He sat up best he could without aggravating his internal bruising, and watched as Zuko opened the door.

Sokka would never get used to the way he felt when he saw the Fire Lord now that he accepted his feelings. The way the light hit Zuko’s face, which was screwed up in affectionate worry, had his blood humming. His robes fell around him so attractively, too. It complimented his thin waist and strong shoulders, and he remembered exactly what Zuko looked like without them on.

He licked his lips unthinkingly, remembering the word he used.

_ Yummy _

“Here to pay your respects to the savior of the day?”

Zuko rolled his eyes and came over to the side of the bed. To his surprise, Zuko kicked off his slippers and slid in next to him.

The closeness to Zuko felt so new and forbidden, but Sokka couldn’t help but want to arch towards the Fire Lord to feel the fabric of his robes and trace the lines on his forehead.

“Azula could have killed you.”

The words were stark, and Sokka found himself twiddling his thumbs absently. “She could have, but she didn’t. Not only am I a badass, but I have the greatest healer in the world as a sister. I was going to be fine.”

Zuko’s head swiveled then, and Sokka felt a reflection of terror and desperation there. “You had minutes left. If Katara and Aang hadn’t arrived at just the right time, you’d be dead. Don’t you get that? You’re not invincible! You can’t just go sacrificing yourself for everyone else!”

“Excuse me, but I didn’t have any other choice! Azula would have burned us all to a crisp in seconds! I had to get her out of there, and I knew the risks when I did it.”

“You don’t know that she would have burned you for sure,” Zuko retorted, poking a finger into Sokka’s chest. “Aang could have handled it.”

Narrowing his eyes, Sokka leaned forward, ignoring the ache in his side. “You know that you’re wrong. Why does this matter? I saved everyone. I knew Azula would land on her feet. She’s like a cat owl. Aang, Katara, and Izumi were safe, too!”

“What about you, though?!” 

Sokka’s breath caught in his lungs. Zuko’s face was twisted in rage and sadness and fear, and finally Sokka caught on.

“You didn’t want me to get hurt,” Sokka said softly, unable to break eye contact. 

“Of course I didn’t want you to get hurt! If any of you were hurt or killed because I couldn’t handle my sister, then how would I be able to come back from that?”

It was very apparent how close the two of them had gotten. Sokka couldn’t breathe with it, and Zuko’s molten eyes seemed to be devouring him.

“I can’t lose you,” Zuko whispered with a hitch. 

Sokka didn’t seem to be in control of his own limbs when he lifted up a hand to cup Zuko’s face and run his thumb along his jawline. “You won’t have to. I promise not to rip open the side of another airship. At this point, I’ve ripped open airships twice. It’s old news. I’ll get creative with my next rescue plan.”

Letting out a breath of laughter, Zuko closed the distance and placed a feather light kiss to Sokka’s mouth, breaking apart as quickly as he approached. “You better.”

There was a cough from the door, and the two of them must have jumped a foot in the air with how quickly they scrambled away from each other.

Toph was standing in the doorway with a shit-eating smirk on her face. “I can tell that you’re feeling better, Sokka. Your heart is racing as fast as a jackalope bunny.”

Some sort of defeated squawk came out of his mouth, one that made him instantly regret his own existence.

“Get out of here, Toph!”

“Is that how you greet your close friend who helped save your life? I haven’t seen you in almost six months,” Toph blubbered pitifully, managing to fake the hurt in her voice successfully.

“Fine, fine, come here,” Sokka said, and Toph walked over to the bed and reached out towards him. Sokka met her halfway and hugged her tightly.

He felt her melt a little bit, and patted her on the back reassuringly.

“How about you, oh royal ding nuts? No hug? You can only hug me when this idiot is dying?”

Zuko grumbled but didn’t actually seem too put out when he climbed out of the bed and crushed her tiny body against his.

“Alright, I’m going to go play with the baby because she’s fussing in her crib. You two lovebirds talk. Or… not talk. Whatever works for you,” she crooned, and Sokka flung a pillow at her before he felt himself wilt in mortification.

The pillow actually found its mark, and Toph gasped, ripping into the pillow with her metal cuffs. “Oh, you’ll pay for that. Your daughter will love auntie Toph most of all, I swear it!”

With that, she escaped the room.

The word was so strange and bulky.

_ Daughter _ .

“She’s not my daughter,” Sokka huffed, feeling out of place all of a sudden. “That’s crazy talk.”

Zuko didn’t comment, seemingly trapped by the word as well. “She’s not my daughter either.”

“As usual, my good buddy, you are wrong,” Sokka said sagely, trying to erase his mortification from earlier in order to really help Zuko come to terms with this. “Who is the one who stays up with her? How about who buys her toys, and feeds her, and protects her? You sure seem like a parent when you’re worried to be away from her for too long, and you seem like one when you sing to her.”

“I don’t sing to her!” Zuko squeaked, blushing furiously. 

Sokka raised an eyebrow in challenge, and the Fire Lord deflated, sitting on the edge of the bed. He was staring at his hands thoughtfully. 

“I never really thought I’d get to have a kid. I knew I’d probably have to have an arranged marriage for appearances, but somehow I still didn’t picture me being a father. I… I love her so much, Sokka.”

His eyes were misting up, and Sokka leaned over and placed his hand to Zuko’s shaking shoulder.

“Congrats, Zuko,” Sokka said seriously, running his fingers from shoulder to the nape of Zuko’s neck, “It’s a girl.”

Scoffing, Zuko turned and narrowed his eyes. There was affection there, despite his tone. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”

“I’m  _ your  _ idiot, though.”

That shut them both up, their faces twin expressions of anticipation.

“Are you? Mine?”

“Wow, what a bold move. You don’t even ask me out and suddenly you want to claim me? You’ve got to woo me, Zuko!” Sokka asserted, placing his hand over his heart dramatically, “I require flowers, and chocolates, and romantic getaways! I am not so easily won over.”

Something sparked in Zuko’s expression that made Sokka shut up after that.

“Alright, then. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.”

Suddenly, there was a wailing from the other room, and Toph yelled, “Guys! She’s making noises! How do I get her to stop!?”   
  


“That’s my cue,” Zuko said softly, gazing at Sokka in a way that warmed him down to his toes. Zuko then strode from the room, going out to meet Toph in the sitting room. “Toph, you can’t take away the metal dragon you made her! She loves dragons!”

“It’s too pointy!” Toph complained.

“You’re a metal bender! Make it less pointy!”

Sokka leaned back against the bed, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

Yeah, he could get used to this.

**_***Zuko V***_ **

A little over a month and a half had passed since his friends came to stay with him. 

Katara and Aang were a few days out from heading on their fall adventure. They’d stayed a lot longer than they’d planned, but there was something about the five members of Team Avatar sitting around a campfire late at night that kept delaying their departure.

Toph was heading out in a few days as well, muttering something about having to return to her metal bending students. “They’re all complete failures, but I can probably make something out of them… eventually.”

Zuko sent out a prayer to the spirits to keep those poor kids safe from the earth bender’s wrath.

He knew the other’s plans, but he found himself frozen whenever he wanted to ask Sokka about his own plans.

The words were sticky in his throat and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t form them. He couldn’t confirm if, after all this, Sokka would leave him, too. It would break him.

*

He’d tried to ask one night, when Sokka and him were huddled on the couch far closer than strictly necessary. Sokka’s tanned hand was resting innocently on Zuko’s knee, but the simple touch was electric between them.

“Sokka, I…”

Izumi started crying then, and Sokka jumped right up, gathering her into his arms. He had to move aside some of Fort Izumi, but in seconds he was rocking her gently and making faces at her.

The picture was so cute, so wholesome, that Zuko couldn’t bring himself to ruin the moment.

**

He’d tried again when Zuko went about his “wooing” process. 

At the time that Zuko asked Sokka to accompany him to a restaurant, Sokka had shrugged and seemed to think nothing of it.

However, when he saw the nice outfit Zuko laid out for him in his room, and then saw the flowers that Zuko was holding when he came out of his room, Sokka could have fried a platypus bear egg on that face. 

It was a beautiful night. They walked with a few guards to the restaurant, who hung back as much as possible to give them room. Zuko had elected to dress nicely but wear a cap so he wasn’t as easily recognizable. It worked for a few minutes before a small boy ran up to him and gasped, tugging on Zuko’s pants. “Fire Lord Zuko, you’re my hero!”

Shocked, Zuko looked around for the kid’s parents, and saw two frantic women elbowing her way towards them. Zuko gave him a skeptical look, kneeling down to the child’s level. They had grey eyes, almost like... “Did you run away from your mom and her friend?”

His face turned confused. “Those are both my moms, Fire Lord.”

The moment froze, and Zuko watched as the two women finally made it all the way to Zuko, bowing when they saw exactly who it was.

One of them looked at him with apologies waiting on her tongue. “We’re so sorry for our...my... son, Fire Lord Zuko. We didn’t mean to disturb your evening.”

The slip wasn’t missed, and something clicked within Zuko, a decision that required no thought whatsoever. It was simple, and necessary.

Forcing a smile onto his face, he said, “It’s no problem at all. Hey, what’s your name?”

“Wu-ten.”

“Okay, Wu-ten. You seem like a very brave man, but you can’t just go running away from your moms. They’ll be worried sick.”

The two women looked at each other frantically, as if they were found out. They seemed about to bolt. 

“You’re really lucky to have parents that love you so much. So be brave, but don’t worry them too much, okay? Being a parent is hard.”

A small crowd had gathered, then, people whispering about the Fire Lord addressing the couple with the very bold little boy. There were a few nasty comments that made Zuko stand up, saying loudly, “I’d be happy to have you join me in the palace for lunch tomorrow. It would be an honor to have such a lovely family. It’s time our nation started to respect the beauty of love over their preconceived notions of marriage.”

The two women were beside themselves. “Fire Lord Zuko, we can’t possibly…”

“I want to make this nation safer for all my citizens. I would be happy to host you. You, and Wu-ten, of course,” Zuko winked at the boy, who had stars in his eyes as he looked up at the Fire Lord.

Sokka was quiet during this whole thing, but when Zuko looked back at him, his blue eyes were burning with pride.

Their dinner ended up being closely watched by the public, rumors whispering around them that made both men tense. It was a lovely evening, but Zuko had made a bold statement that would take time to settle.

There was no good time to bring it up.

***

He’d tried most recently, just a few days ago, when the two of them were at Ember Island. Aang and Katara promised to watch Izumi for the weekend while the two of them had fun. 

Toph had told them to be careful, because the two of them couldn’t handle a second kid right now.

Sokka had tackled her so quickly that the earth bender toppled to the ground. The two of them wrestled like children, with Toph embarrassingly ending up on top.

The weekend had been so eventful, too. The two of them went to the Ember Island Players to watch their telling of the cabbage man’s great journey to founding his own company. Sokka was losing his mind the entire time, because his old actor often showed up and ruined the cabbage man’s day.

“It’s me! It’s the guy! He’s still using my jokes!”

Zuko couldn’t help but watch Sokka watch the stage. The water tribesman was so expressive, and he looked so good in his fire nation outfit again. Partway through the play, Zuko tangled their fingers together surreptitiously.

They both avoided eye contact for a while, but didn’t let go.

They’d both collapsed in their own beds that night, but Zuko couldn’t help the feeling in his chest like something was wrong. That he should have someone next to him in this bed.

The next day they were at the beach. Sokka somehow reversed the clock on Zuko’s age while they were playing, and made him feel so carefree and childlike again. Scratch that, Zuko never really got to feel like a child in the first place.

So the two of them threw seaweed, and tackled each other in the water, and created sand sculptures that were supposed to represent one of their friends.

Zuko was staring at one of Sokka’s for a while. It just looked like a lump of sand.

“It’s… a lion turtle in its shell?”

“No, it’s a rock! Obviously it’s Toph!”

They chowed down on their food ravenously and then went right back out to the beach to lie in the sun, just an arm’s length apart.

Zuko ached to close the distance, but also wanted this light, carefree day to never end. He didn’t want his desires to be rebuffed. It would sully the whole thing.

That night the two of them were telling stories around the campfire. Somehow, Zuko got to talking about the time that him and Azula were given the same fire bending forms to master, and how it took Zuko months to get it while it took Azula a week. “She was always better than me at everything, and it never occurred to me that somehow that perfectionism would be her downfall.”

“Hey,” Sokka came closer, too close given how careful they’d been around each other recently. It seemed forbidden, but the way Sokka’s hard lines of his face showed no room for disagreement was entrancing. Zuko couldn’t pull away. “You are different than Azula, but you’ve said it before. Struggling and fighting has made you so strong. It’s made you a great leader, and a great father.”

Zuko’s breath stuttered in his chest as the two of them gazed into each other’s eyes.

“Has anyone ever told you,” Sokka said, soft enough that Zuko had to lean forward more to hear it, “That your eyes are like molten sex pools?”

Sokka winked goofily, and Zuko jumped back, snapping their intimate gaze. In annoyance, he pushed at the other man roughly. “That’s so dumb! Why would you say that! We were having a moment!”

However, Sokka met the push that Zuko gave him and shoved right back, laying Zuko on his back in the sand and hovering over him, legs bracketing either side of Zuko’s hips. His face was close enough to Zuko’s that they were breathing each other’s air.

“I’d say we’re still having a moment,” Sokka argued, lips curling like a satisfied lion cat. “Wouldn’t you?”

“Maybe,” Zuko tried to tease, or argue, but the heat wouldn’t come. Instead, it was pooling in his stomach, between his legs, tingling on his lips. 

“I think you’re wrong, Fire Lord. I think I’m about to kiss you, and you’re going to kiss me back.”

Zuko swore internally, knowing that this beautiful, strong warrior above him would be the death of him. Sokka’s hair had come out of its ponytail and was a short curtain around his face, framing him like a perfect picture.

He wanted to argue, wanted to tease some more, but when Sokka kissed him, Zuko couldn’t help but do exactly as he was told.

That night, the two of them slept in Zuko’s bed. They kissed until their mouths were sore, and then Zuko had laid Sokka back and watched Sokka’s body react to Zuko’s careful ministrations.

“You’ve never had a man, have you? Do you know how to pleasure one?”

Blinking, Sokka shook his head. He couldn’t seem to summon a joke or anything. He was completely speechless, chest heaving.

“Then why don’t I show you?”

Then Zuko’s head ducked down to take Sokka into his mouth, and there wasn’t much talking after that.

Sokka was apparently a post-coital sleeper, so after Zuko was done with their lessons he watched Sokka doze fitfully. Turns out the other man muttered nonsense in his sleep, and made vague hand gestures as if he was giving a speech in his dream.

The sight had Zuko’s heart clenching.

He looked so much older and fiercer than the boy he met years ago, but still just as goofy, still just as soft. Sokka would kill him if he used the word “soft” to ever describe him, but Zuko kept it in his back pocket for a day when he really wanted to rile him up.

That night, there was no time to talk about it either.

The next morning they saddled their eel hounds, exchanging heated glances as they got ready to depart. Neither of them spoke. 

They didn’t want to break the spell.

When Sokka brought his hand up to kiss it before they mounted, Zuko fought back the urge to cry. 

_ When will you be leaving me? _

  
  


***

  
  


That brought them back to today. Attendants were rushing around the palace, advisors giving instructions and retrieving items from storage and the royal vaults. All five members of Team Avatar had been rushing around all morning, but it was soon time for them to get dressed up.

Toph came out in a gorgeous green suit that cut off at her ankles. Katara was finishing braiding flowers into her hair, looking quite pleased.

“You’re lucky I like you, sweetness. Otherwise I would have earth smacked you across the room.”

Katara snorted. “Thank you, Toph, for allowing me to do your hair.”

The water bender herself was beautiful in a long traditional gown. Zuko didn’t know much about fashion, but based on the form-flattering layers and pearl encrusted bodice, he’d say she made modifications to it. 

He couldn’t be sure, though.

Aang’s formal monk robes were the same as always, with his airbender totem on his neck. 

Sokka came out of his room, as the four of them lazed around, and Zuko’s whole body reacted.

He was in a shirt cut off at the sleeves. The usual furs were replaced with smooth, clean silk lines across his shoulders and chest. There were leathers wrapped around his arms leading to his hands that were adorned in water tribe decorations. His pants were tight, and a half skirt fell to cover parts of it, but Zuko was still losing his train of thought just looking at Sokka.

“Well, are you guys ready?” Sokka asked, giving Zuko a knowing wink.

“Definitely,” Toph snickered, “Also, Zuko, you should calm down, or you’ll sweat through your official robes.”

He was about to come back with an angry comment when Sokka came up behind him, lips ghosting against his neck. However, instead of a kiss, Sokka lifted up Zuko's crown and fixed it into his hair. “You almost forgot, Lord Zuko.”

“Right,” Zuko stammered, and the other three all started walking ahead, laughing at his expense.

The event hall was packed with people. He spied his mother’s other children and her husband in the crowd, all looking dapper in their best outfits. Wu-ten and his moms, Ana and Haliza, were busy talking with Sokka’s dad. 

So many people were here, Zuko thought dizzily. 

“It’s almost as big as your coronation,” Katara commented, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze. 

He was grateful for the support as he said, “This day is just as important.”

His friends walked with him to the raised platform at the end of the room. From there, he could see Mai and Ty Lee chatting animatedly, and Suki not far away catching up with Haru. 

There were twin braziers on either side of him, and a small table containing the items they needed and…

“You’ll do fine,” Sokka reassured. “We’ll be right next to the stage. You practiced this ceremony like, twenty times.”

Nodding, Zuko couldn’t help but have last minute worries that he was going to mess this up, or that he was wrong for having this ceremony in the first place…

...no. No, he wasn’t wrong. He’d spent hours with advisors, family, and friends coming to an agreement, and he wasn’t backing down now.

His uncle made his way to the front of the room, taking his place to the left of Zuko as his second member of the royal family.

Once his friends had left him alone, the ceremony began.

The lead sage of the fire nation cultural council raised his hand and called out to get everyone’s attention. There was a boring speech about loyalty, and leadership, and… “One of the greatest honors I have in my position is days like today. These are the happy days. Today, we celebrate a life that is just beginning. All, please make way for the child.”

Normally, the mother carries in the baby, but Ursa was happy to step in. Izumi was in a very tiny red outfit with gold ribbons circling her head, arms, and legs. Zuko had checked them ten times to make sure they weren’t restricting her range of motion or hurting her in any way. If anything, she found them fascinating.

Everyone “ooh-ed” and “ahh-ed” as Ursa walked towards the platform, and when she got to Zuko, she kissed him on the cheek, whispering, “I’m so proud of you, my love.”

With Izumi settled in his arms, he turned towards the sage and got down on his knees, presenting her up.

“Fire Lord Zuko, do you promise to guide this child in the way of your nation? Do you promise to teach her our values, and train her to be the strongest and wisest she can be?”

“Yes,” Zuko said, feeling elation welling in him with each word.

“Do you promise to be a great leader, to set an example for this child and to bring our nation to peace and prosperity?”

“Yes.”

This next one, Zuko had added to the ceremony, as was his right. “Do you promise to love your daughter so fiercely that she can’t help but love our nation just as much?”

“Always,” Zuko agreed, and the sage swiped his hand through the fire. This was the moment of truth. The one part that Zuko couldn’t practice for, could only hope for.

The sage came out with a small flame, no larger than an acorn. He came forward and brought the flame close to Izumi, saying softly, “Do you fear the fire, little one?”

Zuko couldn’t breathe as she reached out towards it, her little hands coming to either side of it with interest.

The sage removed his hand, and the tiny fire remained in Izumi’s grasp, burning brightly for a few seconds on her own power before disappearing.

There was an applause, and Zuko couldn’t help but laugh as he stood, cradling her in his arms and feeling tears start to well in his eyes.

The sage seemed to be holding back happy tears himself, picking up a small bowl of ashes from the table.

“The ashes of your ancestors shall guide you, Izumi,” he said, drawing the symbol of firebending on her forehead. Her face scrunched up in annoyance, but luckily she didn’t cry.

Then, Zuko handed her off to the sage, who sat her up against his chest as Zuko went to retrieve something.

He came back, a small golden crown in his hands. He had it made specially for her. It was dancing fire in different jeweled colors, just like the dancing dragons that symbolize fire as life. Just below the blue color there was a name inscribed. The one she descends from.

_ Azula. _

Just below the red, the other name inscribed. The one who will raise her as his own.  _ Zuko. _

He held the crown up and announced, “All hail Izumi, the heir to the throne and future Fire Lord of our great nation!”   
  


The crowd responded with “All hail Izumi!”

Zuko swept her back into his arms and tugged her close. She was trying to mess with the crown on her head, curious about the metal, but she did not take it off. Luckily, he had spent days desensitizing her to having circlets on her head so she wouldn’t become too fussy.

Zuko beamed down at his friends. Aang was crying, face full of love and affection for him. Katara blew a kiss at Izumi, and even Toph had a watery smile.

Sokka’s face was different. It was proud, and warm, and reminded Zuko just how much he loved him.

He stood proudly with his daughter and heir, feeling like everything was falling into place.

  
  


***

  
  


Two days later, Katara and Aang were getting Appa ready for departure. Toph was going to be traveling with them to land, and then would meet with some former students who would travel with her back home. 

Zuko found himself staring at Sokka as they packed and ran around. Sokka wasn’t in any hurry at all, playing peek-a-boo with Izumi and tickling her periodically. 

“Sokka,” Zuko finally said, “Aren’t you going to pack?”

That comment made Sokka’s head whip up so fast that he must have hurt his neck. “What?”

Swallowing nervously, he asked, “Aren’t you going back to the water tribe soon? I can’t make you stay here forever to help me. That isn’t fair.”

Sokka laid the baby in her crib, careful to rearrange Fort Izumi, before turning to Zuko with a determined look on his face.

“I already stepped down and gave command to my second. He’s learned everything he needs to know.”

Zuko couldn’t let himself believe what he was hearing. “What about your people…”

“I can visit. Katara and Aang travel most of the time, but they always manage to make it home. It won't be all that different.”

“You… you don’t have to stay…”

Sokka moved quickly then, getting right into Zuko’s space. He walked the Fire Lord back into the wall, and Zuko felt like he was going to combust from the amount of hope and love pouring out of him. This couldn’t be real, could it?

“I’m not sure what you expected, but I’m not going anywhere. I want to stay here. I love Izumi, and… I love you. I want to give us a real chance. I was so confused at first, but it’s so clear now. I want to be yours.”

_ Are you mine? _ His own words echoed in his head, making his lip quiver.

“Alright then,” Zuko said, gaze caught on Sokka’s lips that looked so inviting right now. “ I do believe I’m going to kiss you, and then you’re going to kiss me back.”

Sokka chuckled, voice dark and silky in a way that was too sexy to be fair. Instead of answering, he leaned forward and kissed away Zuko’s doubts, smiling when Zuko kissed back enthusiastically.

Zuko’s joy was enough to burst, to make him explode into a million pieces.

He had so much ahead of him though. He had a lover, and a daughter, and a nation to lead.

For now, everything was at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END.
> 
> Thanks again for all your support, everyone!
> 
> I haven't written any other ATLA fics, but I'm open to suggestions and requests! If you have any ideas or any wish list tags just let me know in the comments below :D

**Author's Note:**

> This work will be updated fairly frequently. 
> 
> I have other fics in other fandoms if you want to check them out. Otherwise, I can't wait for you to read more :D


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